Guide to the Dayton Area Baptist Association Records

History of Dayton Area Baptist Association

The Dayton Area Baptist Association (DABA) was formed in 1964 by a merger between the Upper Miami Baptist Association and the Dayton Baptist Union. In their 1965 yearbook, the association defines its purpose as: -To promote the cause of Jesus Christ through the cooperation and fellowship of local Baptist churches identified with the association. -To extend the interests of the Baptist denomination. -To advance the work of the Dayton Christian Center. -To develop new churches and support existing churches. -To cultivate mutual fellowship among its churches

The association is still active. Membership includes participating Dayton area Baptist churches, the Ohio Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Convention. The association's active mission is the Dayton Christian Center, located on West Riverview Ave. Its purpose is to provide a Christian environment in which neighborhood residents an come to meet for fun and fellowship, for sharing and learning, for discovery and growth; to be an advocate for those who are forsaken and oppressed; and to encourage and give hope to those who have become disillusioned.

Scope and Content

Series I, Administration, contains four subseries: Board of Trustee/Executive Committee Records, Committees, Financials, and Office/Organizational Documents. Subseries IA, Board of Trustee and Executive Committee records, includes correspondence, members lists, reports to the board, meeting sign-in sheets, and minutes and agendas from board meetings.

Subseries IB, Committees, contains files on committees and includes records kept by the respective committees, such as reports on the goals and activities of the committees. The Fall Rally Committee files are the most extensive in this subseries.

Subseries IC, Financials, contains the financial records of the organization, including receipts and disbursements, annual reports, financial statements, treasurer's reports, budgets, monthly worksheets, and church contributions, as well as one file labeled correspondence and communication.

Subseries ID, Office and Organizational Documents, contains general office documents, including papers on the activities of administrative coordinator, Mary DiNofa. It also includes calendars, correspondence, mailing lists, information on president turnover, a brief history on some member churches, and the original papers on a Panasonic Typewriter. Lastly, this subseries contains organizational documents, such as membership applications, DABA banner history, constitutions, directories, statements of goals, brochures, information on the general board and election district #3, maps, newsletters, and yearbooks.

Series II, Ministers, contains records on ministers, including ordinations and ordination procedures, the Minister's Council, mailing lists, and papers on Dinners for Ministers as well as one folder pertaining to the Rev. Robert Hight's retirement. Series III, Missions and Partnerships, contains records of missions, including Baptist Home, Harvester's Chapel, telemissions, and associational, local and state mission funding. The Dayton Christian Center is the largest group of records in this series, covering the years 1951-1992. Among the materials included are by-laws, financial records, reports to the board, the real estate contract for its West Riverview Ave. property, papers on flood control, and other general documents. This series also contains miscellaneous files on issues of interest and (formal or informal) partnerships and/or organizations DABA supports that do not fit elsewhere. Series IV, Baptist Organizations and Churches, consists of four subseries: The Ohio Baptist Convention, American Baptist Churches of Ohio, American Baptist Churches in the USA, Churches, and Church Development. Subseries IV A, contains the Ohio Baptist Convention's records, including its constitution and rules, correspondence, newsletters, announcements, resolutions, and papers regarding the goup's interest in draft amnesty from the Vietnam War.

Subseries IV B, contains the American Baptist Churches of Ohio's records regarding the Baptist Youth Fellowship and Campus Ministries as well as manuals for associations, correspondence, organizational charts, and other general office documents.

Subseries IV C, contains the American Baptist Churches in the USA's records regarding Bacone College, National Ministries, World and Nation Councils of Churches, and World Mission Support. There are also multiple files of progress reports and newsletters regarding mission support (covering international, national, state, and perhaps local/regional). The mission support documents which are dated seem only to cover the years 1989-1990, but many of the mission support documents are undated and it is unclear which of them go together. Although the documents are grouped as much as possible in smaller sets by folder, these documents may not be arranged in the correct original order-either as a complete set or inside the individual folders-since at least half the documents in the folders have no date. It is recommended that the researcher review all of the folders labeled "Mission Support-Progress Reports and Newsletters" rather than simply relying on the date range indicated on each folder. This will ensure that potentially relevant information on mission support is not missed

Subseries IV D, Churches, contains folders representing individual area churches. These files generally contain papers such as correspondence and membership applications. The three "Central" files in this subseries are related to DABA's foreclosure/sale of the Central Church Property. There is also a file in this subseries that relates to two specific church camps. These documents appeared to be filed together in DABA's original arrangement of the records so the separate file was maintained. Rather than include a separate series or subseries for a single file, this file was placed within the "Churches" subseries.

Subseries IV E, contains Church Development program records, such as papers on the "Campaign for New Churches and New Church Development," the "Capital Funds Campaign," and "Impact for the Future." The Springboro and Huber Heights property acquisitions and creation of new churches in these areas have the most extensive amount of material in this series. The Rev. Lee Anglin and wife Carol are prominently mentioned in the Huber Heights papers.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on accessing materials in this collection.

MS-81, MFM-26 First Regular Baptist Church Records MS-257 Central Baptist Church, Oregon District, Records MFM-112 First Baptist Church of Centerville Records MS-449 Trinity Baptist Church Records

Subject Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Organizations/Corporations:

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Material Types:

Preferred Citation

[Box #, Folder #], MS-309, Dayton Area Baptist Association Records, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

Accruals

Additional records may be deposited in the future.

Other Finding Aid

The finding aid is available on the Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University Libraries web site at
https://wright.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/157.